Globalization of McDonalds: India

Image Courtesy of brandeating.com

Almost every American child can recognize the iconic golden arches that belong to McDonald's. This American fast food chain has over 12,000 restaurants in the United States but also serves customers in nearly 120 countries. I was reading an article in Newsweek Magazine that said that McDonalds announced that it would be opening two all vegetarian restaurants in India. This makes total sense at a marketing standpoint because a majority of the population in India are either Hindu or Muslim. In the Hindu religion, the cow is considered sacred and they do not eat meat and Muslims follow 'Halal' and cannot eat pork. There are only 271 restaurants currently located in India that serve some vegetarian options but cannot fully accommodate the limitations of the culture. Instead of common items such as the 'Big Mac' or 'McDouble' that would appear on a menu in the United States, these McDonalds will be serving the 'McAloo Tikki burger' and 'McSpicy Paneer' instead. I think that these restaurants will be more successful because the items available will better cater to the population. When I went to Israel a few years ago, my family and I went to a McDonalds that served kosher burgers. Since there are many Jews in Israel that keep kosher, the McDonalds served kosher burgers to fit the dietary restrictions of their clientele. Similarly, the McDonalds in Israel have changed their menu to better serve the people that will buy their product. Through the examples of India and Israel, I begin to wonder what kind of image an American company has coming into a different country. Would the population of that country prefer to have the 'American' options on their menu rather than ones that fit to their culture? To me, I would clearly think that if an American company is coming in, it should serve 'American' food. But as I mentioned earlier, through a business viewpoint, the company would not make a great profit if it did not adapt its menu to the culture. On the other hand, I feel as though sometimes, profit is not all that matters but that keeping a certain standard throughout all restaurants is the most important. This view, however, is rather idealistic and could never benefit the economy. What do you think?

To Cheat or Not to Cheat

As we kick off the new school year at New Trier, students are refreshed on the rules regarding Academic Integrity from the Student Handbook. One of the most important sections that students are aware of is about cheating.  Most every student knows that cheating is morally wrong but how come there are still some students who engage in this unethical epidemic?

I was reading an article on the New York Times website that talked about the growing number of students that are cheating, even in top notch high schools and universities across the country.One recent example includes Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan where more than 80 students were accused of sharing information via text messaging about state Regents Exams. With all of the technology at our disposal, cheating can become more widespread much quicker and fly "under the radar". Also in this day and age, it is even easier for cheating to happen because of the wide variety of resources that are available to students. For example, the Internet has opened endless doors for information but has also created the opportunity for vast amounts of plagiarism. Students can just copy and paste straight from the source into their work and call it their own. On one of the first days of class, Mr. O'Connor stressed to us the importance of citing our sources and not plagiarizing. The article also mentioned how unlike at New Trier, many students are unaware of the Academic Integrity polices at their schools and that parents do not do a great job of reinforcing these rules.

Students feel more pressure now than ever to succeed in what they do and will go through any means to reach their goals, even if this includes taking shortcuts. Donald L. McCabe, a researcher on cheating observed that students in the past who were struggling were usually the ones most likely to cheat but now, he is seeing that more high achieving students are cheating. In high school, students may feel pressure from their parents to get good grades, or even feel inadequate next to their peers. These can be reasons that drive students to cheat, McCabe describes.

Particularly in the US, there is a large emphasis on success and doing one's best. The future of the United States rests on the shoulders of young adults and some may collapse under this intense pressure. Cheating may slide by in high school and college but the act will have detrimental affects on the country if some continue down this path.

The Paralympic Games

Courtesy of www.paralympic.org

This past summer, countless Americans "oohed" and "ahhed" at the spectacular athletic feats that they watched during the London 2012 Olympic Games. They saw their favorite athletes triumph and bring gold medals home. Each evening, the games were broadcasted on NBC and this year, the London Olympics became the most watched television event ever recorded in the US with more than 219.4 million viewers. This can not be said about the Paralympic Games. Unfortunately, NBC has decided not to do broadcasts of the games but instead "will screen a total of four 60-minute highlight packages on one of its most obscure cable TV channels" according to one source. This article also describes that some other nations like the UK and Australia are offering live streaming of the games. As I have observed as an American, sometimes our culture is not very welcoming towards people with disabilities. Of course in a perfect world, everyone would be accepting of one another. This makes me wonder if somehow these "cultural ways" are related to the lack of awareness about the Paralympics. What is it about the ideals of the United States, as compared to other nations, disuades openness to differences? I was unaware that the Paralympic Games were even going on right now (August 29- September 9) until a friend told me about them at school the other day. How come NBC has decided not to broadcast the games in the US? Youtube has announced that they will be streaming the Paralympics in both the United States and Canada. This way, there will be at least some access for Americans but surely not as many people will be watching. Furthermore, many disability organizations are very displeased with the lack of coverage because they feel that more light needs to be shed on disability awareness. The IPC is the committee that is responsible for organizing the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games. On their page on the Paralympic website they state that,"The Paralympic Movement builds a bridge which links sport with social awareness thus contributing to the development of a more equitable society with respect and equal opportunities for all individuals." How can this be achieved if many Americans are not given the opportunity to experience the truly inspiring determination and success of Paralympic athletes?